Why read this: A2 students need short, clear non-fiction that has one main worry and one or two simple causes. This article gives them just that. The big question is easy to remember: are good grades really getting easier? The article gives a clear yes-and-no answer, with simple reasons. Students learn that the same number can mean two different things, depending on why it went up. They also see how a writer can correct a wrong idea about schools, in friendly everyday language.
What to notice: Notice the question in the title and how the article comes back to it at the end. Watch for the word 'but' at the start of a paragraph. The 'but' tells you the writer is changing direction. Notice the simple cause and effect: more students apply, the same number of seats, so the cut-off grade goes up. Notice also the bell curve paragraph, where the writer says 'this is not a rule'. That is the writer telling you that a popular idea is wrong.
Skills practised: Reading short non-fiction about a school topic; finding the main idea in a paragraph; matching a cause to an effect in simple sentences; using 'but' as a signal that the writer is changing direction; and understanding when a writer says 'this is not true' to correct a wrong idea.
"Are good grades really getting easier?"
"Many people in Canada think students get higher marks than before. Is this really true?"
Tap any green word in the article to see its meaning.
Many news stories in Canada say that students get higher gradesgrade: a level of quality, size, or importance; also a mark given for school work — 等级；成绩；年级 than before. People worryworry: To feel anxious or troubled about a problem or possible event. — 担心；烦恼 that an A is too easy now. This is called grade inflation: the idea that students get higher marks than before, even when their work is not really better — 分数通胀. The worry is that a high mark today does not really mean what it used to mean.
It is true that grades are higher. At Harvard University, the averageaverage: Typical or usual; not special or different from others. — 平均的；普通的；一般的 grade has gone up almostalmost: Very nearly but not completely. — 几乎；差不多 every year since the 1950s. So this is not a new problem. After the COVID-19 pandemicpandemic: A pandemic disease; a disease that affects a wide geographical area and a large proportion of the population — 大流行病；（疾病的）大范围流行, grades went up eveneven: Exactly, just, fully — 正好 more. Schools were closedclose: to (social) To finish, to terminate — 结束；终止. Big tests were cancelledcancel: To invalidate or annul something — 取消. Teachers were kinder when they markedmark: To put a sign on something, or to check students' work. — 标记；批改 students' work, because students had hard problems at home.
But there is something we should know. The grade you need to get into a Canadian university is also higher now. This is for a different reason. Many more students want to go to university. There are not enough places for all of them. So the lowest grade you need to get in goes up. This is just because there are too many students for too few places. It is not because teachers mark too easilyeasily: Without difficulty or effort. — 容易地；轻松地.
There are also good reasons why grades may really be higher. More students finish high school now than before. When more students passpass: To go past something, or to succeed in a test. — 经过；通过, the average grade goes up. Teachers also use better ways of teachingteaching: The work or activity of instructing students in a school or other place. — 教学；教授 now. Many teachers have learned new methodsmethod: A way of doing something — 方法；方式 that help students learn more.
Some people think teachers must give a few As, many Bs, and a few Cs in every class. They think this is a rule. This is the idea of the bell curve: the idea that a teacher must give most students a middle grade, and only a few students a top or bottom grade — 钟形曲线. But it is not a rule in Canadian schools. Teachers can give an A to every student in a class, if all the students do excellentexcellent: Extremely good; of very high quality. — 优秀的；卓越的；极好的 work.
So should we worry about grade inflation? The honesthonest: telling the truth and not trying to deceive people — 诚实的；坦率的 answer is that we do not know yetyet: Used in negative sentences and questions to say something has not happened up to now. — 还（未）；尚（未）. We need more new researchresearch: Careful study to find information about a subject — 研究；调查 about Canadian schools. But we should not always think that a higher grade is a bad signsign: A notice with words or pictures giving information. — 标志；标牌；迹象. Sometimes higher grades just mean that students are learning more, and that teachers are doingdo: To perform; to execute — 做 a better job.
Many news stories in Canada say that students get higher gradesgrade: a level of quality, size, or importance; also a mark given for school work — 等级；成绩；年级 than before. People worryworry: To feel anxious or troubled about a problem or possible event. — 担心；烦恼 that an A is too easy now. This is called grade inflation: the idea that students get higher marks than before, even when their work is not really better — 分数通胀. The worry is that a high mark today does not really mean what it used to mean.
It is true that grades are higher. At Harvard University, the averageaverage: Typical or usual; not special or different from others. — 平均的；普通的；一般的 grade has gone up almostalmost: Very nearly but not completely. — 几乎；差不多 every year since the 1950s. So this is not a new problem. After the COVID-19 pandemicpandemic: A pandemic disease; a disease that affects a wide geographical area and a large proportion of the population — 大流行病；（疾病的）大范围流行, grades went up eveneven: Exactly, just, fully — 正好 more. Schools were closedclose: to (social) To finish, to terminate — 结束；终止. Big tests were cancelledcancel: To invalidate or annul something — 取消. Teachers were kinder when they markedmark: To put a sign on something, or to check students' work. — 标记；批改 students' work, because students had hard problems at home.
But there is something we should know. The grade you need to get into a Canadian university is also higher now. This is for a different reason. Many more students want to go to university. There are not enough places for all of them. So the lowest grade you need to get in goes up. This is just because there are too many students for too few places. It is not because teachers mark too easilyeasily: Without difficulty or effort. — 容易地；轻松地.
There are also good reasons why grades may really be higher. More students finish high school now than before. When more students passpass: To go past something, or to succeed in a test. — 经过；通过, the average grade goes up. Teachers also use better ways of teachingteaching: The work or activity of instructing students in a school or other place. — 教学；教授 now. Many teachers have learned new methodsmethod: A way of doing something — 方法；方式 that help students learn more.
Some people think teachers must give a few As, many Bs, and a few Cs in every class. They think this is a rule. This is the idea of the bell curve: the idea that a teacher must give most students a middle grade, and only a few students a top or bottom grade — 钟形曲线. But it is not a rule in Canadian schools. Teachers can give an A to every student in a class, if all the students do excellentexcellent: Extremely good; of very high quality. — 优秀的；卓越的；极好的 work.
So should we worry about grade inflation? The honesthonest: telling the truth and not trying to deceive people — 诚实的；坦率的 answer is that we do not know yetyet: Used in negative sentences and questions to say something has not happened up to now. — 还（未）；尚（未）. We need more new researchresearch: Careful study to find information about a subject — 研究；调查 about Canadian schools. But we should not always think that a higher grade is a bad signsign: A notice with words or pictures giving information. — 标志；标牌；迹象. Sometimes higher grades just mean that students are learning more, and that teachers are doingdo: To perform; to execute — 做 a better job.
Questions
Check your understanding
- 01
What is grade inflation?
- 02
Why is the grade you need to enter a Canadian university higher now?
- 03
What does the article say about teachers and the bell curve in Canada?
- 04
Name two reasons why grades in Canada may be higher today than before.
Suggested length: ~50 words
- 05
Describe what the bell curve is, and explain what the article says about it.
Suggested length: ~50 words
Questions
Check your understanding
- 01
What is grade inflation?
- 02
Why is the grade you need to enter a Canadian university higher now?
- 03
What does the article say about teachers and the bell curve in Canada?
- 04
Name two reasons why grades in Canada may be higher today than before.
Suggested length: ~50 words
- 05
Describe what the bell curve is, and explain what the article says about it.
Suggested length: ~50 words